Sony Pictures Television and Prime Video have dropped the first trailer for the Spider-Noir series, starring Nicolas Cage as a live-action variant of his Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse character Spider-Man Noir. Like the show, the trailer is available to watch in “true-hue” color, or genre “authentic” black-and-white.
As disclosed in an Esquire exclusive earlier this week, Cage’s early 20th century Spider-Man is not Peter Parker, but Ben Reilly, and will be known simply as the Spider, ala the classic pulp hero who preceded Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s Marvel creation.
The show’s official synopsis says, “Spider-Noir tells the story of Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a seasoned, down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.”
Lamorne Morris co-stars as freelance journalist Joe “Robbie” Robertson, while Karen Rodriguez portrays Reilly’s secretary and fellow investigator Janet. Li Jun Li plays nightclub singer Cat Hardy, a character inspired by Black Cat/Felicia Hardy, and Brendan Gleeson plays mob boss and main antagonist Silvermane, while Jack Huston plays his enforcer Flint Marko (more commonly known as the Sandman in other realities.)
Developed by showrunners Oren Uziel (The Lost City) and Steve Lightfoot (The Punisher) with Into the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Amy Pascal, Spider-Noir will premiere on MGM+ on Monday, May 25, before releasing in its entirety on Prime Video two days later. It will arrive two months before the next Spider-Man film, Brand New Day, hits theaters on July 31, and a year before Cage returns as his version of Peter Parker in Beyond the Spider-Verse on June 18, 2027.
Now, it should be acknowledged Sony have not had the best track record with live-action Spider-Man spin-offs, given the critical drubbing the Venom films, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter received, as well as their lackluster box office reception (aside from the Venom trilogy.) Between this and the planned animated Spider-Punk film, it’s clear the studio is hoping for more success by building on the unique settings the Spider-Verse movies have offered instead. Will they achieve it? As always, we’ll keep you posted.
